The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-09-09
THE MUSICAL WONDER.
A Georgia Man Tells of His First Meet
ing With Blind Tom.
From the AUGUSTA NeUi


From the augusta Netcs.
Since the recent action of the courts in
taking Blind Tom from the custody of Mr..
Bethune, his former lifelong friend, man
ager and protector, has brought him so
prominently before the public in the news
papers, few facts concerning his child
hood, by one who knew him then, may not
prove embarrassing He was born near the
| city of Columbus, in Muscogee county,
Georgia, of slave parents, the property of
Gen. James n. Bethune, at that time editor
and proprietor of a newspaper called the
Corner Stone, but in exactly what year
do not know, as he was some or years,
or it may be little older, when l first met
him, in 1855
My first meeting with him was in this
wise: had just married few months pre-
viously, and one of Gen Bethune's daughters
had been one of our bridesmaids. On our
return from Northern tour we were in
vited to dine at Gen. Bethunes. During
the day music was proposed and upon the
piano and flute my wife and played a tune
which we had heard for the first time at one
of the theatres in Philadelphia. AT the
first sound of the music Tom came rushing
into the parlor in single garment, so com
mon among the little negroes in the South,
and while the music was going on he fell
down upon the floor, rolled over, turned
somersaults, clapped his hands, groaned,
and went through divers motions, really
more as If he were in pain than experience
ing emotions of pleasure. As soon, how
ever, as the last note was played, he sprang
up, rushed to my wife, and, pushing at her,
cried out, eagerly:
Miss Fannie-he knew her well-please
get away; | wants ter play dat tune"
And jumping upon the piano stool he
played it off perfectly, although / know he
had never heard it until that moment, for it
had only recently been published and had not
yet come South. To test him, then others
played tunes he had never heard, and he
would Immediately play them off with both
hands, just as he had heard them. He seems
to have loved all sounds, whether musical or
harsh. He loved to do the churning for the
family, just to hear the monotonous sound
of the dasher in the cream. He has even
been known to pinch and otherwise tease
babies, just to hear them cry.
One habit of his seems to SAVIOR a good deal
of romance, yet it is true Being blind he
would stray away from home, listening to
the songs of birds as they fitted from tree
to tree till he would get lost in the woods,
unable to find his way back. Upon such oc-
casions the most practicable way to find
him would be for Mr.. John Bethune-
his first manager-to go out in the woods
and play his flute, when Tom would hear
home.
Although idiotic he was, even at that early
age, endowed with a wonderful memory
After spending the day at Gen. Bethune's,
as related above it was over six years be-
fore | saw him again. The war was going
on, and one day, on taking train, | unex-
pectedly found Mr.. John Bethune with Tom
on the train. | addressed Mr. Bethune and
then Tom, not dreaming that he would rec
ognize me, when, to my infinite surprise he
said:
"How dye, Mr.. Sharp; how's Miss Fan
nie!'
To which 1 said: "Why, Tom, how do you
know me so wellf"
Miss Fannie too; don't you know when
and he whistled the very tune mentioned
above.
On that trip l discovered how the
absence of sight had rendered all
his other senses more acute, for
as we dashed along at perhaps
thirty miles an hour he could always tell
whether we were passing woods or open
fields, houses, cuts, entertainments, bridges
or almost anything else. | remember, we
entered small village on the railroad
when l asked Tom what was outside,
to which he promptly replied: "a heapof
houses sd Ia4
There was always warm friendship be-
tween Tom and the whole Bethune family,
and it is an injustice to take Tom from their
custody, for he was better off with them
than he will ever be with any one else They
reared him from his infancy, and unless he
has changed-which it seems not, from the
papers-he prefers to remain with Mr.. Be-
thune.